Sign projection apparatus



Nov. 1, 1932. P. KRUPNIK SIGN PROJECTION APPARATUS Filed F65. l0.` 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet DDDDDDDDn-D Nov.A l, 1932. P. KRuPNlK 1,885,841

` sIGN PROJECTION APPARATUS Filed Feb. 1o. 1930 4 sheets-sheet 2 N. l A ZM/liar; l

NOV. ll, 1932. P KRUPNIK 1,885,841

SIGN PROJECTION APPARATUS Filed Feb. 1o, 1930 4 Sheets-sheet 5 nuv faz/490%?? Nov. l, 1932. P. KRUPNIK 1,885,841

SIGN PROJECTION APPARATUS l Filed Feb. 1o, 19:50 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 n DDIJDDII Um @j www@ AU/ Patented Nov. 1, 1932 PATENT OFFICE PHILLIP KBUPNII, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS SIGN Paomc'rroN APPARATUS A Appucauoii mea February 1o, 1980. sum1 No. 427,112.

This invention relates to projection apparatus in general, and particularly to an 1mproved sign projection apparatus adapted for use for display advertising purposes, by

5 projecting. words or symbols on la screen or other plain surface, the image of these words or symbols traveling across the surface of the screenat a constant pre-determined rate of'speed so. that long messages may be exhibited.

It is the main object of this invention to roduce an improved sign of the image projection type which .will be compact in form,

cheap and simple of constructionjand operation, and which will be highly convenient for carrying out the purposes for which it is designed.

Another object of this invention is to pro' duce an improved sign of theimage projection type in which all of the mechanism may be housed compactly and uniquely in a sultable housing provided, therefore, said hous,

ing having associated therewith suitable ventilating means for cooling the same, and being so constructed as to permit of ready access to the interior thereof for adjusting the mechanism disposed therein.

The further object of this invention is to provide an improved sign of the image projection type, a novel and im rovedmeans for uniformly moving at a preetermined rate of speed the character bearing element across the sign portion of the device, and havingassociated therewith means for preventing the character bearing element from getting caught on said element driven means `and causing a stop in the uniform movement ofl the said element.

A still further object of the inventionis to produce an improved sign of the image rojection type, all ofthe mechanism of w ich may be ,compactly mounted within a s ingle housing having suitable means associated therewith for carrying the same while the device is in operation, said mechanism beingiso disposed within said housing asto permit of a ready adjustment of the same.

A still further object of the invention is to"y rovide an improved sign of the image projection type, having an improved means associated therewith for projecting wordsl or symbols on the surface ofa screen, said Aproject-ion being projected through a suitably mounted prism whereby the image of the words or symbols appearin on 'the screen 5 5 may be formed in a straig t line, or in a curved rainbow color effect. v

With the foregoing and `other objects in view, 4which will appearas the description proceeds, the invention consists incertain novel features of construction, arrangements, and combination of parts, hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompa-l nying drawings, and `particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being' under- 65 stood that various changes in the form, proportion, size, and minor details of the con-l struction may be made without departing from the s irit or sacrificing any of the advantages o` the invention. l i

Stated generally, the inventionsconsists of a suitable housing in which is adjustably mounted the regular stereopticon projecting and condensing lenses, and light box. Disposed also within said housing is an endless film carried on suitable rollers, having` associated therewith a suitable steadying device for the lm,land means for drivin the 'iiflm,j said means consisting of a rotata le motor electrically driven, said motorhaving associated therewithmeans fordrving a Ifan for cooling the inside of the housing when the'v device is in operation. All of the above elements are adjustahly'mounted within the housing in a novel and 'compact manner. "85

Suitable means are provided for taking the motor to' the film in order to drive the same in one of two directions,and when once adjusted for movement in one direction, there is no danger of the mechanism slip- ,ping or'becoming loose or inany way movlng -into engagement with the means for' driving it inthe other direction. The words or sym, bols appearing on the'character bearing element are-projected on a suitable screen, the to a motor 22, which drives the lm moving along the surface of said screen at a constant predetermined rate of speed so that long messages maybe exhibited. In practice, a suitable prism may -be disposed in front of the projecting lens, said prism being adjustable to cause, in accordance` with the wellknown laws of physics, a breaking up of the light projected therethrough into. the colorsV of the rainbow.- A

For the lpurpose of facilitating lan understanding of my invention I have illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, a preferred embodiment thereof, from an inspect-ion ofv which, when considered in connection with the following description, my invention, its

'several figures of the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational vie'w of'a sign projecting apparatus embodying the present invention,- the housing in which the said mechanism isF mounted being shown in sec- Figure 2 is a top plan view of the same taken on line 2 2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view through the apparatus, taken on line 3-3 `of Fig- 'ure 2;

Figure 4 is an elevational view taken on line 4-#4 of Figure 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

. l Figure 5 vis a front elevational view of a mounting for. the prism disposed in front of the projecting lens 2;

v Figure 6 is a vlew of the words or symbols as they appear projected on the surface of a screen in a substantially straight line; and

Figure 7 isa similar view showing the -words as they appear 'on the' surface of the screen when said words are projected through theprism.

Referring to Nthe drawings `more specifically by characters of reference, the numeral 1() 'designates .generally a housing of any suita able size and shape, and having a bottom 11',

sides 12, and a suitable hinged top 13,`said top being hinged to one of the side members 12 by means ofwthe hinge 14, and is adapted for opening up to permit of ready access to' the inside of the housing. The bottom wall 11' of the housing is provided with the threaded bearings 15, there bei-ng two-such bearings at the rear of the casing or housing, and one at the forward end thereof, said bearing being'adapted for receiving in threaded engagement, the screws 15', said screws having knurled' heads for rotating the same and are adapted for aiding in supporting the housing on a level plane. The said housing may be constructed of any suitable material, such for example, as metal or the like. The base 11 lmay becast' from suitable material, and is lof su'iii'cient strengthlto support the mechanism to be mounted thereon.

The-character bearing element 16 used in connection with this apparatus is preferably constructedl of a flexible material such asv paper or other material like the film which is found in motion picture iilms, and is made in devised for inovhrg the` 17, said fra e having the side members 1 the lower portions'of which are securedJ the base 11 bymeans of the screws 19, or some other suitable means. .The said frame is disposed intermediate the ends of the casin and is adapted to support thereon, in a nove and f improved manner, all of the mechanism neces- -sary for the proper projection of the 'characters appearing on the ilm 16. Disposed onl one side of said frame is a lamp box 20, and on the other side thereof is carried my improved film moving mechanism, as well as the proj ecting lenses Aand prism, to be presently more fully described.' Through the base of the i" housing is adapted, to enter an electric cable (not shown) for supplying electric current to the lamp 21 within the lamp box 20, as well as to a motor 22, which drives the -iilm moving' mechanism, said' motorbeing provided with a suitable regulator or governor 23, of any well known construction, for increasing o r decreasing the speed of the motor. There is also provided, Within the housing, a suitable switch A24, for turning on and off the motor;

as well asa rheostat control 25 for'controlling a worm 27 This worml meshes with a-gear 28 which in turn drives a shaft 29. The shaft 29 is journalled in a pair of ears 3 0, provided on the side members 18, and has slideably mounted thereon a member 31, upon the ends of which are provided the bevel gears 32 and 33. Thesaid member 31 is disposed between the ears 30 and is adapted-for movement along the shaft 29 to engage either one of -a pair of co-operating bevel gears for driving the character bearing element in the desired direction. A set screw 34: is provided 'on the member 31, and is adapted for positively securing said member tothe shaft 29 in the desired position. It will thus be noted that in such Vposition by positive means, thereby ellmlnating the Vdanger ofsaid mechanism l becoming loose and out of adjustment.

The frame 17 is providedintermediate the top and' bottom thereof with a front extens ion 35, said extension 35 connecting the two side members n18 and having extending thereably mounted within through', adjacent each end thereof, the horizontally disposed rod 36, each of said rods 36 being secured in place in said extension by means of a set screw 37. Said rods 36 have adj ustably mounted thereon the lamp box on one side of said frame 17 and a projecting lens tube 38I on the other side of said frame. Said lamp box and projecting lens tube are slideably mounted on said rods as is clearly shown in Figure 2, and are held in any desired position on said rods by means of suitably set screws 39 and 40. Disposed within the lamp box 20 is a luminous center 21which, in the form shown, consists of the ordinary incandescent light. Said lamp 21 is adjustybe fixedly held in any adjusted position by means of the said screw 41. Within the for.- ward' end of the lamp box 20 is disposed, 4in the usual and wellknown manner, the condensing lenses 42, and in the rear wall of said lamp box is disposed a suitable reflector 43. Said lamp box may be of any wellknown construction, and, as the same forms no part of the present invention, it is thought unnecessary t o describe the same more. indetail.

18 are connected by a cross member 44, which cross member together with the front extension 35 and side members 18, form the opening 45, said opening being disposed directly in front of and in alignment with the condensing lenses 42 of the lamp box 20.

The character bearing element 16 is adapted to be mounted within said housing so as to move across the front of said opening 45 for projecting the words or symbols appear- -ing thereon to a suitable screen provided therefor. Said film is driven across the front of said lopening at a predetermined,constant rate of speed by the motor 22. The mechanism employed for driving said film is as follows:

Vertieally'disposed shafts 46 and 47 are journalled in the cross members 35 and .44, said shafts being provided at the lower ends with bevel gears 48 and 49, which gears are disposed in position for engagement with the bevel gears 32 and 33 respectively, provided on the member 31. As already explained, the member 31 is adapted to be moved to a position where the gear 32 will be in engagement with the gear 48 for driving the film in one direction, and, as shown in the drawings,` when moved to that position, the gears 33 and 49 will be out of engagement with each other.

On each of the shafts 47 and 46 are rigidly secured a pair of sprockets 50 and 51 intermediate the ends of said shafts, said sprockets being provided withteeth 52 which engage the sprocket holes 53 ofl the character bearing element, and cause it to be moved, as will be hereinafter set forth.

(lo-operating with the sprockets 50and 51 are rollers 54 and 55, which are rotatively said lamp box and mayy wall of the housing,

mounted on shafts 56 and 57 respectively mounted in the endsof an auxiliary frame 58, the lower portion of which is' pivotally secured to theextension 35 as shown at 59 in'Figure 4 of the drawings. The upper portion of the auxiliary frame 58 is provided with a lug 60, which is adapted for engagement by a hook 61 pivotally secured to the upper extension 44 by means of a screw 62, as shown in Figure 2 of the drawings. This engagement of the hook 61 with the lug 60 will draw the auxiliary frame `58 toward the frame member 17 and hold the rollers 54 and y `55 toward the sprockets 50 and 51 so that the ing held on said frame in any suitable man- The upper portions of the side members' ner such, for example, as by the guides 65 secured to the frame by screws or the like.` The character bearing element 16 is supported in the housing 10 on a plurality of idlers 66, supl ported in suitable brackets 67 provided therefor, the forward portion of said element being held in proper alignment between the' frame 17 and the auxiliary frame 58. It will thus be noted that by \unhooking the auxiliary; frame and swinging the same about its pivot 59, the rollers and sprockets will be separated and will permit the placing in position of the character bearing element; the said auxiliary frame may then be hookedto the main frame again forcing the rollers into co-operating enoagement with the sprockets for securely holding the character bearing element in operative position. l

It sometimes happens, during the operation of the machine, that the film 16 will catch on fside members 18 said extension havind a curved forward end 69 disposed adjacent the shaft carrying the said sprockets and isadapted for engaging the film to prevent the same the film is accidentally caught on one of the said sprocket teeth.

An additional feature `of my apparatus lies inthe provision of a fan 70, electrically driven by the motor 22', for properly Ventilating and cooling the interior of the housing whileA the device is in operation; This fanis disposed opposite an opening 71, provided in the rear and is adapted to draw from winding on the* sprockets in the event knobs 77 are provided in cool air from the outside atmosphere, which air will circulate through the casing and pass outiof the top of the lamp box 20.

' Adj ustably mountedpn the front of the lens ner. Tdie frame 73 is adapted for vertical adjustment'within the mounting '72, said ady ljustment being accomplished bv the .provision of a winged screw 75 disposed in the mounting 72 and extending through a slot 76 provided in the frame 73. Suitable operating for actuating the prism in order to move the "samesto any desired position with reference to the openings in said frame andmounting.

The method of'operation ofthe device may be described as follows;

The motor 22 is supplied with current from any suitable source, andthe lamp 21 is energized4 so thatv it throws a beam of light against condensing lenses 42, the reflector 23 disposed in the rear of said lamp 21 concentrating said light through the said condensing lenses.' The motor drives. the shaft 29 through the worm 27 and the worm-gear 28, the vshaft 29 driving the shaft 46 through the bevel gears 32 and 48. The shaft 46 drives the sprpckets 50, which in turn drive the film in the desired direction, and the moving words and symbols provided on said film pa/ssybefore theY 4aperture 45 and in front of the aperture 63 provided in the auxiliary frame.

`The light through the perforationsds directed by the projecting lenses in the projectingtube 38 through the prism 73 against Asa result, the image of the the screen from right to left at a constant predetermined rate of speed, so

Y that new words or symbols yare constantly appearing on the' screen.

It will be noted that well as the projecting lens tube is'. adjustably mounted on the rods 36, thus permittingv the adjustment of vthese elements.` for purposes ofproper focusing Also, these elements are f compactly housed within the casi-ng lwhich. may .be opened from thetop for ready access yto'these elements for purposesof proper adjustmento l.

It will be further noted that by., providing the adjustablefeet 15,', the image which is projected fronti-,the lens tube may be brought into 'proper elevation en/the sight portion of the sign which may be the screen, wall or other background againstwhich-the image is the lamp housing, las` mit the proper disposition `oftheapparatus on a surface which may not be properly leveled. Also, my improved construction permits of ease'in changing from one character bearing element to another, it being but necessary to unlatch the auxiliary frame 5,8 from Vthe frame 17 to cause the rollers to re-v lease the element when i-t-may be removed and a new one put in to place, whereupon, the auxiliary frame may be again latched to the frame 17 and the apparatus may be again started. y

The drawings show the apparatus arranged to display the subject matter of the element through a translucent sight portion such as ground glass or the like, instead of upony an opaque surface. Should it be desired to display the subject matter upon any opaque surface, it is but necessary to loosen the screw 34 and to move the member 31 to bring. the gear 33 thereon into engagement with the gear 49, which will convert the sprocket 51 into the driver instead of the sprocket 50y which is now the idler. The character bearing element is now turned inside out causing the characters to be reversed from their previous position and to be presented to the apparatus side of the sight portion, in correctl order and moving correctly from the viewers side of the sight portion'.I The projection of the character images therefon will appear in correct order and move in proper sequence across the sight portion.

The style of projection just described, in which both the viewer and the apparatus are on the same side of the sight portion, is of value in the usual motion picture theatre, in^ projection against ther Walls of buildings, sign boards and the hlm; `while the reverse method first described is particularly desirable .inshow Windows and in similar cases where` reverse side projection would have to be used. i

It is believed that my invention, its mode of construction and'assembly, and many of its advantages should be readily understood from the foregoing, without further description, and'should also be manifest that while a preferred embodiment' f the invention has been shown and descri ed for illustrative purposes, the structural detailsare, neverthe-v less,yrcapable of wide variation Within the 'purview of my invention as defined in the ifea said frame members adapted to hold said strip vibrationless as it passes therethrough,

and projections formed integral with said inner frame for partially surrounding said 'sprockets'for preventing the film from winding around said sprockets when accidentally caught thereon.

2. An advertising device comprising an endless flexible film, having words running lengthwise of the film, means for projecting the image of said words on the screen, driving means for continuously moving said so `that theprojected image is in continuous motion, an adjustably mounted vertical frame having a centrally dis osed opening therein across which the said lm is adapte to move, sprockets mounted adjacent each side edge of said opening engaged by said film for propelling the same, means formed integral with said frame and surrounding a substantial portion of said sprockets for preventing the film from winding itself about said sprockets inthe event of\ beingcaught thereby, and an auxiliary frame pivv otally mounted to said first mentioned frame 85 adjacent the lower end thereof, detachable means for securing said auxiliary and main frame in operative relation 'with each other, said auxiliary frame having rollers disposed4 adjacent said sprockets and being adapted for cooperating with the same to hold said film vibrationless as it passesl therebetween.

Y. 3. An advertising device comprising an `endless flexible film, having characters running lengthwise of the film,`means for proscreen, driving means for continuously movJ ing said film so that the projected image is in continuous motion, a vertically disposed frame havinga central opening therein across which lthe samey film is adapted to travel, horizontally` disposed rods adjust-y ably supported within said frame, said rods having adjustably, mounted thereon the propivotally mounted auxiliary frame 'provided jecting the image ofv said characters on a.

jecting means including the usual stereoptir on said main frame adapted to open relative e to said main frame to allow said film to be inserted therebetween, and vto be then detachably closed to keep said film thus inserted, and vertically disposed rollers provided on saidl auxiliary frame adapted to cooperate with said sprockets orholding the film vibrationless as it passes therebetween, and a housing for all of said mechanism, said housing being provided with vertically disposed rollers on each side thereof, said rollerssupporting said film in its travel 4between the two supporting frames. l

`4. In a sign projection apparatus, a housing, an upstanding frame mounted within said housing, horizontally disposed rods car-- ried by said frame intermediate the ends thereof, an auxiliary frame pivotally secured to said first mentionedframe, a projection device, including the usualv light source, carried on one side of said frame and the projection lens carried on the other side of said frame, said frames being provided with apertures in axial alignment with the light source and projection lens, an-endless flexible film having words running lengthwise of the film supported in said housing by means of vertically disposed rollers secured to the sides of said housing, said film being adapted to travelin a continuous motion,r across the apertures provided in said frame members whereby the Words appearing thereon will be brought yinto operative relation with the said apertures, means including motor driven sprockets provided on the main frame and cooperating rollers provided on said auxiliary frame for driving said film I across the aperture in said frames and to hold the said film vibrationle as it passes therebetween, means formeiS integral with said main frame for partially surrounding said sprockets to prevent the film from winding thereon when accidentally caught thereby, manually operable means for reversing the direction of movement of the film, and means disposed within said housing for Ventilating the same.

5. In a sign projection apparatus, a housing, an upst'anding frame mounted within said housing, horizontallj7 disposedrods carried by said framesninternmdiate the ends' no f IISIS said auxiliary frame for holding said lm vibrationless as it passes between said frames, and means provided on the lside walls of the housing for contacting that portiony of the filmjust beyond the `said frames at either side thereof. v

In testimony whereof I :LEX-my signatu're.

. pHrLIP KRUPNIK. 

